A Noble Lady of Venice

Venice was a constant source of inspiration to Leighton: he visited the city many times throughout his life, and eventually was to own over twenty pictures by Venetian artists. Leighton painted this work in the mid-1860s when a new aesthetic was emerging among the next generation of British artists, which stressed poetic imagery and beauty for its own sake at the expense of narrative. The influence of the aesthetic movement can be seen clearly in Noble Lady of Venice, which focuses on the luscious flowers and sensuous fabrics rather than the identity of the sitter.